The writing was on the wall by 1968, Pop had turned into rock and solo female vocalists were finding hits hard to come by. Dusty was no exception: her last significant hits on either side of the Atlantic had been in the summer of 1966. Nevertheless, Ahmet Ertegun, the visionary head of Atlantic Records, figured she was still as fine an interpretative singer as Aretha Franklin, and wanted to get her in a studio with the same band that had turned Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and The Box Tops into hot acts.
When Dusty arrived in Memphis, however, she was horrified by the material she was offered (classy adult ballads rather than gritty funk), and demanded that everything be worked out before recording, with her voice added to final mixes (the musicians and producers wanted something spontaneous, Dusty singing with only a rhythm track). The singer lost her nerve and fought with everybody, accusing the producers of being prima donnas; ashtrays were thrown and sessions canceled. Dusty fled back to New York to record in a (slightly) better atmosphere.
The results, though, could hardly have been improved upon. For all Springfield's tantrums, the material is top notch, by excellent composers at the top of their game. The arrangements are incredible, the vocals imperious. The first single, "Son Of A Preacher Man", returned her to the Top Ten.
It took Dusty a year before she could listen to the album. Record buyers were not even that forgiving: despite rave reviews, Dusty In Memphis bombed, registering only a lowly No. 99 (in the U.S.). Her career never recovered.
TRACKS:
Just A Little Lovin' 2:15
So Much Love 3:28
Son Of A Preacher Man 2:19
I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore 3:06
Don't Forget About Me 2:49
Breakfast In Bed 2:54
Just One Smile 2:37
The Windmills Of Your Mind 3:48
In The Land Of Make Believe 2:28
No Easy Way Down 3:08
I Can't Make It Alone 3:47
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